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The best part about working with seasoned actors in Hollywood is you never know when they might improvise a scene out of the blue. Well, Harry Potter star Tom Felton claimed to have experienced such a magical and equally baffling improvisation while working with Ralph Fiennes, on the set of Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films | image: Warner Bros.

According to Tom Felton’s memoir, Ralph Fiennes had apparently improvised the creepy scene where Voldemort gave Draco a chilling and most uninviting hug, after the Battle of Hogwarts. The actor revealed that after doing over 30 takes, Fiennes suddenly lifted his arm lousily and invented an awkward hug that left him shaken and scared to date.

Ralph Fiennes Improvised His Hug with Tom Felton in Deathly Hallows Part 2

While Lord Voldemort has been the creepy and psychopathic villain in the Harry Potter franchise, there...

Fiennes is broodingly compelling as a potential English pope caught up in murky Vatican intrigue around choosing the next pontiff

Who knew that the laborious process of democracy, of simply voting over and over again, could be so exciting and so amusing? Edward Berger’s drama is adapted with masterly flair by screenwriter Peter Straughan from the Robert Harris pageturner; Ralph Fiennes is on sumptuous form as the deeply troubled Cardinal Lawrence at the centre of a murky Vatican plot. The result is a high-camp gripper, like the world’s most serious Carry On film.

Fiennes’ character is Italian in Harris’s book, but Straughan makes him an Englishman: an unquiet soul who is theoretically on the verge of becoming the first English pope since Adrian IV, although no one is so vulgar or nationalistic as to point that out. With the ailing pope in extremis, Cardinal Lawrence arrives at...

Ralph Fiennes impresses as a doubtful cardinal tasked to find a new Pope in Edward Berger’s thriller. Here’s our Conclave review.

Filmmakers have a habit of telling stories about men of God having doubts. Films like Signs, Silence and The Exorcist have certainly engaged audiences through the years, but director Edward Berger takes a different approach to religion and the Catholic church with Conclave. Based on Richard Harris’ novel of the same name, Conclave exhibits doubt over the entire institution, which is a risky, bold stand to take for a big screen wide release feature.

Plot-wise, after the current pope suddenly dies, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked to arrange the eponymous conclave to choose a replacement. Several cardinals from all over the world shut themselves into a building to debate and vote for a new pope, but as it turns out, this lot of men are just...

Ralph Fiennes, Stanly Tucci, and John Lithgow have all had very storied careers, and Conclave brings these three legends together like never before. Among many of the things that the trio talked about with The Guardian, Fiennes gave his two cents about the election of Donald Trump to the President’s Office.

Conclave || Credit: Indian Paintbrush

Donald Trump’s election was a major upset for a lot of Hollywood institutions, a slew of which had endorsed his opponent, the Democrat candidate Kamala Harris. Fiennes’s thesis about the President-elect winning took a deeper look into what his campaign said to the people.

Ralph Fiennes believes Trump is a great storyteller Donal Trump || Credit: Joe Rogan Podacast (via YouTube)

Speaking with The Guardian about why he believes Donald Trump won the election, Fiennes had a very interesting thought about the whole situation. According to the actor:

I think it comes back...

Conclave Box Office (North America): 5th Weekend Update (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Indie or arthouse films really ruled the theatres these past few months. From Terrifier 3 to Civil War, and more emerged as winners at the domestic box office and worldwide, too. Conclave is a significant film that has been in the domestic top 5 list for weeks. It held its ground at the US box office despite other releases. Scroll below for the deets.

It was released at the same time as Venom: The Last Dance in the US. It was released in 1,753 theatres and collected $6.60 million on its opening weekend. It is also raking in winning numbers on its fifth weekend. The mystery thriller film was directed by Edward Berger and features Ralph Fiennes in the lead role, alongside Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. The film’s estimated budget was $20 million.

According to BoxOfficeReport.

Universal’s screen adaptation of “Wicked” dominated the U.K. and Ireland box office with a commanding £13.7 million ($17.2 million) debut, according to numbers from Comscore.

The musical fantasy leads a robust frame that saw Paramount’s “Gladiator II” maintain strong momentum in its sophomore session with £4.7 million, pushing its cumulative total to £18.4 million.

Studiocanal’s “Paddington in Peru” continues to demonstrate impressive holds in its third weekend, collecting £4.2 million for a running total of £24.5 million. Warner Bros.’ “Red One” secured fourth position with £866,764, bringing its three-week total to £5.9 million.

Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Heretic” rounded out the top five with £205,457, accumulating £5.4 million over four weeks. Universal’s “The Wild Robot” placed sixth with £183,578 (£13.5 million total), while Lionsgate U.K.’s “Small Things Like These” ranked seventh with £166,803 (£3.5 million total).

Trafalgar Releasing’s Metropolitan Opera presentation of “Tosca” debuted in eighth place with £129,206, followed by Polish holiday entry “Listy Do M. 6” from Magnetes Pictures,...

Beim 40. Santa Barbara Film Festival wird Timothée Chalamet mit dem Arlington Artist of the Year Award honoriert.

Elle Fanning und Timothée Chalamet in „A Complete Unknown“ (Credit: Searchlight Pictures)

Timothée Chalamet, dieses Jahr mit „Dune: Part Two” und „Wonka“ erfolgreich in den Kinos, wird auf der 40. Jubiläumsausgabe des Santa Barbara Film Festival mit dem Arlington Artist of the Year Award honoriert. Die Auszeichnung wird der Star am 11. Februar entgegennehmen. Das Festival ehrt ihn nicht nur für „Dune: Part Two“ und „Wonka“, sondern auch für das Bob-Dylan-Biopic „A Complete Unknown“ von James Mangold, das in den USA zu Weihnachten in die Kinos kommt (bei uns erst Ende Februar 2025).

Das Santa Barbara Film Festival spielt in der Awards Season traditionell eine wichtige Rolle. Hier stoppen gerne die für Oscars gehandelten Stars. Bereits bekanntgegeben hat das Festival die Ehrenpreisträger Ralph Fiennes für „Konklave“ (Outstanding Performer of the Year), Angelina Jolie (Maltin Modern Master...

Despite the relatively light release year, a welcome spread of films this holiday season brings us good tidings and cheer. From indies to majors, from talking lions to dog-women, there’s variety under the tree this year, offering a mix of blockbuster studio baubles, idiosyncratic character-driven Hanukkah presents, and new stocking-stuffers from stalwart filmmakers.

Nominations voting is from January 8-12, 2025, with official Oscar nominations announced January 17, 2025. Final voting is February 11-18, 2025. And finally, the 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Et/ 4:00 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.

The State of the Race

The past couple of years, the Best Actor Oscar race has been rigid to the point of there typically only being room for one surprise nominee to gain momentum in the back half of awards season. Though few nominations have been released, 2024 is shaping up to be no different, with prognosticators really having to stretch to create a list longer than 10 names who have a shot at a nod, if that.

What most people have been waiting to see is how voters will respond to Timothée Chalamet...

Updated with latest: Timothée Chalamet has been tapped to receive the Arlington Artist of the Year Award during the 40th edition of the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The honor will be bestowed February 11 during an-person tribute and career retrospective.

The festival, which runs February 4-15, said Monday it was honoring Chalamet for three 2024 films: the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Dune: Part Two and the musical Wonka. The award, organizers said, “recognizes Chalamet’s unparalleled talent and his enduring impact on the cinematic landscape.”

A Complete Unknown hits theaters on December 25 via Searchlight.

Chalamet is the latest honoree announced by Sbiff, which is a must-stop on the annual movie-awards circuit. He joins the likes of the previously announced Ralph Fiennes from Conclave (Outstanding Performer of the Year), Maria‘s Angelina Jolie (the Maltin Modern Master Award) and Emilia Pérez star Zoe Saldaña (American Riviera Award).

Additionally, Kieran Culkin,...

After a record-breaking weekend at the global box office, “Wicked” has now become the most nominated movie in the Astra Film Awards and Astra Creative Arts Awards eight-year history. The Universal Pictures film received 20 nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress for Cynthia Erivo, Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande, and Best Director for Jon M. Chu.

The Hollywood Creative Alliance will host two ceremonies – a luncheon and dinner – on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles. Both ceremonies will be recorded and streamed on Knekt.tv and YouTube. Actor, comedian, and writer Peter Kim will host the Astra Creative Arts Awards and Emmy-winning comedian and host, Loni Love, will host the Astra Film Awards.

“Dune: Part Two” came in second place with a total of 16 nominations. The Denis Villeneuve sequel from Warner Bros. snagged nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cast Ensemble, amongst many others categories.

“Wicked” led all films in nominations for the 2024 Astra Film Awards, the Hollywood Creative Coalition announced on Monday. The hit musical received a record 19 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Comedy or Musical, three acting noms and a sweep of all the below-the-line categories in which it was eligible.

The big-budget sequel “Dune: Part Two” was second with 15 nominations, while Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical “Emilia Perez” received 11, the body horror film “The Substance” received 10 and Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” received nine.

Films that were not nominated in the top category include “Gladiator II,” “Nickel Boys,” “Blitz,” “September 5” and “A Complete Unknown.”

Overall, the nominations tended toward high-profile and commercial movies, with more challenging performances by Daniel Craig, Sebastian Stan, Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton and Marianne Jean-Baptiste overlooked in favor of, for instance, acting nominations for Naomi Scott for “Smile 2” and three separate stars of “Wicked”: Cynthia Erivo,...

Timothée Chalamet, the Oscar-nominated actor who stars in two of 2024’s highest-profile awards contenders, James Mangold‘s A Complete Unknown and Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune: Part Two, will be honored with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Arlington Artist of the Year Award, the fest exclusively tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Chalamet will be feted Feb. 11 at Santa Barbara’s historic Arlington Theatre, after which the award is named. The actor, who will turn 29 on Dec. 27, will participate in a career-retrospective conversation that will highlight, in particular, his two 2024 films, prior to being presented with his hardware.

“I’m a big fan of Bob Dylan, and I was blown away by Chalamet’s transformation in A Complete Unknown,” Sbiff executive director Roger Durling said in a statement. “His performance is galvanizing and electrifying, especially coming on the heels of the major box office triumph earlier this year with Dune: Part Two.

We are not exaggerating when we suggest the race for a Best Actress and, only to a minusculely lesser degree, a Supporting Actress nomination is at historically competitive levels. The most recent comparison we can give is the race for the 2015 Best Actor Oscar. That year saw “Nightcrawler’s” Jake Gyllenhaal, “Interstellar’s” Matthew McConaughey, “The Grand Budapest Hotel’s” Ralph Fiennes, and “Selma’s” David Oyelowo each get snubbed for performances that could easily win any other year.

Continue reading The Great Best Actress & Supporting Actress Oscars Gauntlet Of 2025 at The Playlist.

If the 2025 Oscars nominations were announced today, what would Gold Derby predict as the nominees and winners? Since our predictions center opened on July 1, 2024, more than 6,000 people have made their forecasts in 18 top categories. So who’s out front to claim these golden trophies, according to the Gold Derby Oscar predictions 2025?

Below, see a snapshot in time of our racetrack odds for the 97th Academy Awards, updated on Nov. 25, 2024. See how the odds and rankings have changed over time by examining our previous Oscar snapshots on July 3, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 29, Aug. 6, Aug. 19, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Sept. 19, Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 22, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 11, and Nov. 18.

Now expected to receive a nomination since the last update: Yura Borisov (“Anora”) in Best Supporting Actor. The Neon film centers around the titular character, a sex worker (Mikey Madison) who embarks on a whirlwind romance with a client, the young son of a Russian oligarch.

Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to a confirmed $112.5m launch, while Paramount’s Gladiator II arrived in second place on a strong $55m as total box office combined for a $200m-plus weekend.

Opening in 3,888 theatres, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is the third biggest opening of the year to date behind Deadpool & Wolverine on $211m and Inside Out 2 on $154.2m. It also established the biggest opening weekend by a Broadway adaptation by some distance, eclipsing $31.1m set by Into The Woods in 2014.

Wicked recorded...

Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to a confirmed $112.5m launch, while Paramount’s Gladiator II arrived in second place on a strong $55.5m as total box office combined for a $200m-plus weekend.

Opening in 3,888 theatres, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is the third biggest opening of the year to date behind Deadpool & Wolverine on $211m and Inside Out 2 on $154.2m. It also established the biggest opening weekend by a Broadway adaptation by some distance, eclipsing $31.1m set by Into The Woods in 2014.

Wicked recorded...

Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to an estimated $114m launch, while Paramount’s Gladiator II arrived in second place on a strong $55.5m as total box office combined for a $200m-plus weekend.

Opening in 3,888 theatres, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is the third biggest opening of the year to date behind Deadpool & Wolverine on $211m and Inside Out 2 on $154.2m. It also established the biggest opening weekend by a Broadway adaptation by some distance, eclipsing $31.1m set by Into The Woods in 2014.

Wicked recorded...

While the Harry Potter movies have been a cult classic franchise and an element of nostalgia for fans, there’s no denying that Potterheads are somewhat sore from the fact that the movies scrapped a few of the essential aspects from the novels. But thankfully, now that HBO is planning on a TV reboot of J.K. Rowling’s magical story, there seems to be hope for salvation.

A still from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | image: Warner Bros.

Potterheads seem to be armed with a list of important plots that were previously left out of the movies. One among them is the origin story of Lord Voldemort, which not only explains the tragedy of the Gaunt family but also rationalizes the cause behind the Dark Lord’s sociopathy. Therefore, based on fans’ eagerness for this plot, HBO should vehemently include it in the potential TV series.

Lord Voldemort’s...

With the Governors Awards just behind us, the Thanksgiving break right in front of us, every major awards hopeful having finally screened for pundits (the last one was unveiled on Wednesday evening) and the 97th Oscars exactly 100 days away, now seems as good a time as any to do a thorough temperature-check of the Oscar race.

Best picture

The main headline, at this point, is that there is no clear frontrunner, unlike a year ago when Oppenheimer was clearly ahead of the pack. Rather, there are, in my estimation, six films that look all but assured of landing one of the category’s 10 slots. Alphabetically, they are: Neon’s Anora, A24’s The Brutalist, Focus’ Conclave, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, Paramount’s September 5 and Universal’s Wicked. Let’s discuss them one by one.

Anora, which won Cannes’ Palme d’Or, is Sean Baker’s portrait of a stripper-turned-sex worker...

Timothee Chalamet might be making Oscars history at the 2025 ceremony… at least according to early predictions from critics and experts!

The 28-year-old actor was one of the youngest stars to earn a Best Actor nomination for 2017′s Call Me By Your Name. Now, he might become the youngest actor to actually win the award for his performance in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

Keep reading to find out more…

Variety released a list of predictions for the 2025 Oscars.

The outlet predicted that Timothee would emerge victorious when pitted against Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) and Paul Mescal (Gladiator II) in the category. Interestingly, Adrien is currently the youngest star to win the award previously. He did so at the age of 29 when he won for The Pianist.

A Complete Unknown is also predicted to snag nominations in the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress,...

Editor’s note: “Nowhere Special,” distributed by Cohen Media Group, is one of the most moving new films U.S. audiences could see in 2024. The story of a terminally ill father on a search for a family to adopt his toddler son is profoundly emotional without being manipulative. One of the best reviewed movies of the year, including by IndieWire’s Digital Director Christian Blauvelt, who said “it will absolutely destroy you,” it currently holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. But because it premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 and was held for distribution until this year, it’s ineligible for Oscars consideration due to an Academy rule that says it would have had to premiere at a festival after January 1, 2023. Its director, Uberto Pasolini, argues below why it should still be on your radar regardless. Pasolini’s next film, “The Return,” a riff on “The Odyssey” starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche,...

You don’t need to be a Bob Dylan aficionado to appreciate Timothée Chalamet’s transformation into the iconic folk singer. Even if your knowledge of Dylan’s career is limited to a few famous tracks or a vague recollection of his controversial shift to electric guitar, Chalamet’s performance in “A Complete Unknown” is undeniably a career best. He’s emerging as a leading contender for his first Academy Award — a compelling performance that may prove difficult for voters to ignore.

On Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Searchlight Pictures hosted two packed screenings of “A Complete Unknown” at the Fox Lot, followed by Q&a sessions featuring director and co-writer James Mangold, actors Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning, costume designer Arianne Phillips, and production designer François Audouy. Chalamet, currently filming Josh Safdie’s new period project “Marty Supreme,” was notably absent, but his presence wasn’t needed to dominate the conversation.

Edward Berger’s follow-up to All Quiet On The Western Front is a slickly enjoyable papal popcorn piece about faith in institutions. Conclave may be set in the Vatican, but it’s practically modelled on American politics: one character even compares one of the movie’s many backroom meetings to a US political convention. And yet, Berger’s rich detail is specific, nicely combining the worlds of political and religious power play.

The movie opens on a distraught Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) making his way to the Holy Father’s chambers to confirm the Pope’s demise and prepare to elect his successor. Soon, all the pieces are in play, as Peter Straughan’s clockwork screenplay (adapted from the novel by Robert Harris) swiftly establishes each character and plot point like dominoes to be knocked down by hubris, interpersonal tensions hidden by smiling faces. The result is a wildly entertaining balancing act of egos,...

Director Edward Berger, known for All Quiet on the Western Front, and Elvis Oscar nominee Austin Butler are teaming up for The Barrier, a time-travel film that’s creating a lot of excitement in the industry.

Based on a short story by MacMillan Hedges, details about the plot are being kept secret, but insiders are comparing it to Interstellar mixed with Top Gun. Berger will direct and produce, working from a script by Hedges, who is also producing.

Butler is set to star and will executive produce. The project hit the market on Wednesday, sparking interest from top executives just ahead of Thanksgiving.

Berger, who won four Oscars for All Quiet on the Western Front (including Best International Feature Film), is now one of the most sought-after directors. His latest movie, Conclave, a thriller starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, debuted in U.S. theaters in October after premiering at Telluride.

In Edward Berger’s Oscar-tipped drama, the three actors play cardinals vying to become pope. Ahead of the film’s UK release, they form a huddle to discuss fame, food – and why Trump won

Faith, death and vengeful vaping: of all the Oscar contenders this year, Conclave is the one that best combines chewy religious inquiry and lavish side-eye. Adapted by Wolf Hall screenwriter Peter Straughan from the Robert Harris novel, Conclave has been directed by All Quiet on the Western Front’s Edward Berger as a heavy-breathing battle for hearts, minds and power.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence, who, after the sudden death of the pope, must park his own religious doubts to wrangle the 113 cardinals who have descended on the Vatican. These men will be sequestered until they can elect one of their number as the new pontiff. Among them are the gentle progressive Bellini (Stanley Tucci...

Ein deutsches Kino-we für die Geschichtsbücher liegt nicht vor uns. Aber „Gladiator II“ hält sich mit soliden Zahlen auf dem ersten Platz. Und Edward Berger darf sich mit „Konklave“ auf dem zweiten Platz über den besten Kinostart seiner Karriere freuen.

Brot und Spiele

Weil kein potenzieller Überfliegerkandidat an diesem mit Neustarts generell etwas schwächer bestückten We vorhanden ist, hat „Gladiator II“ (die Spot-Besprechung) leichtes Spiel, zum zweiten Mal den ersten Platz in den deutschen Kinocharts zu reklamieren. Gestern kam Ridley Scotts Großwerk auf weitere 25.000 Tickets / 300.000 Euro und zielt jetzt auf ein We 2 zwischen 200.000 Ticket und 250.000 Tickets. Damit wäre gesamt die 500.000-Besuche-Marke passiert, jetzt geht es dann in Richtung Ticketmillion.

Weißer Rauch

Edward Berger feiert mit „Konklave“ (die Spot-Besprechung) den besten Filmstart seiner Karriere, und das in nicht ganz einfachen Zeiten. Sein Vatikanthriller mit Ralph Fiennes ist der einzige Neustart von Format, der sich gestern mit 12.000 Tickets / 120.000 Euro / 392 Kinos auf den zweiten Platz setzte.

Exclusive: All Quiet on the Western Front helmer Edward Berger and Elvis Oscar nominee Austin Butler are out to the town with The Barrier, a hot time-travel package that is expected to spur competitive bidding, sources tell Deadline.

Plot details for the film, based on a short story by MacMillan Hedges, are under wraps, though we hear it’s been discussed as Interstellar meets Top Gun. Berger will direct from a script by Hedges and produce alongside the scribe, with Butler to star and executive produce. The package hit the market Wednesday, as a big buzz title heading into Thanksgiving, with top executives around town asking to meet and hear the take.

After seeing his Netflix WWI epic All Quiet on the Western Front snap up four Oscars, including Best International Feature Film, the German-born Berger has emerged as one of the most sought-after directors around town. He’s in...

The past is ever present in our lives, so it’s unsurprising that many movies lean on that juxtaposition in the stories they tell. In 2024, the past casts an especially big shadow across films like “The Brutalist,” “Gladiator II,” “The Piano Lesson,” “Conclave,” “A Real Pain” “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” “The Return” and even the comedy “My Old Ass.”

“Memory and trauma are inextricable from the present moment,” says “Nickel Boys” director RaMell Ross.

The Holocaust looms over both “A Real Pain” and “The Brutalist,” although the former examines how the trauma still lingers existentially several generations later, while in “The Brutalist” it’s as immediate as the nose on Laszlo Toth’s face: Toth (Adrien Brody) wrecked it jumping from a train to survive, leading to a heroin addiction to treat the pain.

“We all carry our history in our body,” says Mona Fastvold, who co-wrote the movie with director Brady Corbet.

Deadline reports that Emerald Fennell (Saltburn) has filled out the rest of the major roles for her upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights. Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery), Hong Chau (The Whale), and Alison Oliver (Conversations with Friends) have joined the cast of Wuthering Heights.

Wuthering Heights, which was first published in 1847, deals with “Heathcliff, an orphan-turned-foster-son who falls in love with the daughter of the family who owns the estate on which he now lives, Wuthering Heights. After running away, Heathcliff rises up through the ranks of the gentry and exacts revenge on the families — the Earnshaws and the Lintons — who kept him from his true love.” Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie are set to star in the film, with Elordi playing Heathcliff and Robbie playing Catherine Earnshaw. Warner Bros. is keen to get production going early next year, but Elordi is also slated to...

On Wednesday, AARP The Magazine announced its 2025 Movies for Grownups Awards nominations. Papal thriller “Conclave” leads with six nominations, including Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups, Best Director for Edward Berger, and Best Actor for Ralph Fiennes. Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” is in second place, with five nominations. TV nominees with multiple nominations include “Hacks,” “The Morning Show,” “Shōgun,” and “Slow Horses.”

The American Association of Retired People’s Movies for Grownups program champions movies and TV “for grownups, by grownups,” meaning 50-plus.

“A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Perez,” “Gladiator II,” and “September 5” are the Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups nominees.

In the Best Actress category, nominees are Pamela Anderson (“The Last Showgirl”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”), Demi Moore (“The Substance”), and June Squibb (“Thelma”). The Best Actor nominees are Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), Daniel Craig (“Queer”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave...

AARP The Magazine has announced the nominees for the annual Movies for Grownups Awards. The best picture contenders are “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez,” “Gladiator II” and “September 5.”

The best actress race includes Pamela Anderson (“The Last Showgirl”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”), Demi Moore (“The Substance”), and June Squibb (“Thelma”). The best actor category has Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”), and Jude Law (“The Order”).

Best director nominees include Pedro Almodóvar (“The Room Next Door”), Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”), Edward Berger (“Conclave”), James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”), and Ridley Scott (“Gladiator II”).

“Passionate for sophisticated, high-quality content, older audiences have the ability to propel film and TV content into mainstream popularity,” says AARP film and TV critic Tim Appelo. “With this year’s Movies for Grownups nominations, AARP spotlights the talents and work that resonate with this powerful demographic.

Edward Berger’s papal thriller Conclave and the upcoming Timothée Chalamet-starring Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown lead the nominations for the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, which annually champion movies for grownups, by grownups and encourage films and TV shows that resonate with older viewers.

Focus Features’ Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, scored a leading six nominations, while Searchlight’s James Mangold-directed Complete Unknown, which hits theaters on December 25, had five noms. The two pics are nominated for the Mfg’s marquee Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups Awards, alongside Paramount’s Gladiator II and September 5 (which had four noms apiece) and Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, (three noms).

Last year’s Best Picture winner, Killers of the Flower Moon, went on to nab 10 Oscar nominations.

Other notable nominees include Robert Zemeckis’ Miramax-produced, Sony-distributed generation-spanning Here, starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright and penned by Eric Roth in...

Edward Berger’s Conclave, which takes viewers into the drama behind the selection of a new pope, leads this year’s Movies for Grownups Awards nominees with six nods, including for the top prize of best picture.

James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as the legendary musician, landed five nods, followed by four-time nominees Gladiator II and September 5 and triple nominees Sing Sing, Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist.

The best picture category sees Conclave face off against A Complete Unknown, Emilia Pérez, Gladiator II and September 5.

In addition to best picture, Conclave is represented in the categories of best actor (Ralph Fiennes), best supporting actor (Stanley Tucci), best supporting actress (Isabella Rossellini), best director (Berger) and best screenwriter (Peter Straughan).

A Complete Unknown is up for best picture, director (Mangold), screenwriter (Mangold and Jay Cocks), ensemble and Best Time Capsule.

Gladiator II, in addition to best picture,...

How do the 2025 Oscars Best Picture contenders stack up on Rotten Tomatoes? And does the film with the highest freshness rating have a better shot at winning the big prize?

While critics’ scores don’t determine the Best Picture lineup (there are thousands of highly-rated movies each year), once the lineup is selected by AMPAS, there are at least a few tea leaves worth noting. For instance, the only film to win Best Picture in the last 10 years with a freshness rating lower than 90% is “Green Book,” which has a Tomatometer score of just 77%.

Last year’s winner, “Oppenheimer,” holds a formidable 93%, but it didn’t rank first among it’s competitors. That distinction went to “The Holdovers,” which has a rating of 97%. So, a movie doesn’t have to have the highest score, but it certainly helps its chances. And falling below 90% would put any movie at an extreme disadvantage,...

“Glen Powell delivers one hell of a performance.”

That is the headline of Connor Jameson’s (The First Picture House) review for Netflix’s “Hit Man,” the critically acclaimed comedy directed by Richard Linklater. In the film, Powell plays Gary Johnson, a professor moonlighting as a hit man for his city police department, descending into dangerous, dubious territory. Gary adopts numerous personas throughout the film, and that is what provides Powell with the opportunity to shine. The actor not only rises to the occasion as a leading man, but makes the movie work with his “entrancing” performance.

With raves like that (and the movie’s 95% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes), it’s no wonder that Powell is leading Gold Derby’s odds to take home the Golden Globe for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actor.

Anthony Francis (The Movie Revue) writes, “Glen Powell has never been as charismatic, nor has he...

Model, actor and animal behaviorist Isabella Rossellini has no regrets. At the golden age of 72, the child of actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini has learned her fair share of lessons during her five decades-long career. Now, in Edward Berger’s papal whodunnit Conclave, Rossellini transfers that resilience to Sister Agnes, a primarily silent yet intimidating nun tasked with caring for the cardinals as they meet to elect a new Pope after the former one dies under mysterious circumstances. As the candidates, marshaled by Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), backstab and clandestinely strategize, Sister Agnes holds crucial information.

Deadline: You’ve had so many varied roles in your long career. What made you want to be a part of this one?

Isabella Rossellini: The script was a page-turner. I read it several times, especially the ending. It is a very surprising ending that I found very moving because...

In her nearly 50-year film career, Isabella Rossellini has played everything from a tortured nightclub singer to Beethoven’s lover to a mysteriously young 71-year-old doctor. Most recently, Rossellini received acclaim for her role as a nun in “Conclave,” and so it’s the perfect time to take a look back at her life and eclectic film career. Scroll through our photo gallery above (or click here for direct access) to see the 10 best Isabella Rossellini movies, ranked.

Rossellini and her twin sister Isotta were born in Rome on June 18, 1952, to Golden Era legend Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini. As a child, Rossellini underwent 18 months of grueling procedures to correct scoliosis. In 1976, she made her film debut with a small role as a nun caring for a dying countess played by her mother in the Vincente Minnelli fantasy film “A Matter of Time.” However, it was a few...

We Live In Time Box Office (North America): Achieves A Remarkable Feat ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Indie films have been doing really well at the box office these past few months, including We Live in Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. It has now become one of the top five arthouse films of the year, crossing the $20 million mark at the North American box office. The list also includes Ralph Fiennes starrer Conclave. Keep scrolling for the deets.

Neon’s thriller Longlegs is also one of the arthouse movies this year that crossed the $20 million milestone. It featured Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe in the lead roles. It is Neon’s highest-grossing movie domestically and one of the highest-grossing independent movies of the year.

Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh’s We Live in Time collected an estimated $1.13 million this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo’s data from 1,160 locations across North America.

In her nearly 50-year film career, Isabella Rossellini has played everything from a tortured nightclub singer to Beethoven’s lover to a mysteriously young 71-year-old doctor. Most recently, Rossellini received acclaim for her role as a nun in “Conclave,” and so it’s the perfect time to take a look back at her life and eclectic film career. Scroll through our photo gallery below to see the 10 best Isabella Rossellini movies, ranked.

Rossellini and her twin sister Isotta were born in Rome on June 18, 1952, to Golden Era legend Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini. As a child, Rossellini underwent 18 months of grueling procedures to correct scoliosis. In 1976, she made her film debut with a small role as a nun caring for a dying countess played by her mother in the Vincente Minnelli fantasy film “A Matter of Time.” However, it was a few more years before her acting career took off,...

Bleecker Street has acquired US rights to David Mackenzie’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) premiere Relay starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and Sam Worthington.

The company plans a 2025 theatrical release on the thriller, which Black Bear fully financed and produced alongside Thunder Road Pictures and Sigma Films.

Justin Piasecki wrote the screenplay to the story about a fixer who specialises in brokering lucrative pay-offs between corrupt corporations and individuals who threaten their downfall. When a message arrives from a potential client who needs his protection, the fixer’s rules of engagement start to change.

Relay producers include Basil Iwanyk for Thunder Road,...

Updated with latest: Angelina Jolie will receive the Palm Springs Film Festival’s 2025 Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress, for her “extraordinary portrayal” of Maria Callas in Maria.

“Maria presents the iconic Angelina Jolie in the role of a lifetime as she embodies Maria Callas, the world-renowned opera legend. Jolie’s extraordinary portrayal captures the heart and complexity of an artist whose life was as captivating as her music,” said festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “In honor of her mesmerizing transformation into this groundbreaking yet tragic figure, we are thrilled to present Angelina Jolie with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress.”

The festival runs January 2-13 in the desert city east of Los Angeles, and its film awards will be handed out January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. See the other announced honorees below.

Updates, November 15: Nicole Kidman will receive Palm Springs Film Festival’s International Star Award for...

Bleecker Street has acquired U.S. rights to “Relay” following the twisty thriller’s debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

The film was directed by David MacKenzie, who oversaw the Oscar-nominated “Hell or High Water,” and stars Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Lily James (“Pam & Tommy”) and Sam Worthington (“Avatar”). Bleecker Street is planning to release the film in theaters next year.

“Relay” puts a new spin on the kind of paranoid loner films like “The Conversation” and “The Parallax View” that populated ’70s cinema. In it, Ahmed plays a “fixer” who specializes in brokering payoffs between businesses and employees who have secrets about corporate malfeasance that could ruin companies. Because of the nature of his work, he keeps his identity a secret through meticulous planning, but his guard drops ever so slightly when he takes on a new client (Lily James) who needs his protection to stay alive.

Bleecker Street has swooped on Relay, acquiring U.S. rights to the high-concept contemporary thriller, starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James and Sam Worthington, which impressed in its world premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.

Written by Justin Piasecki and directed by David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water), the film will be released in theaters sometime next year.

In Relay, Ahmed plays a world class “fixer” who specializes in brokering lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten their ruin. He keeps his identity a secret through meticulous planning and always follows an exacting set of rules. But when a message arrives one day from a potential client (James), needing his protection just to stay alive, the rules quickly start to change.

Black Bear fully financed the project and produced alongside Thunder Road Pictures and Sigma Films. Producers include Basil Iwanyk for Thunder Road, Gillian Berrie for Sigma,...

The fall festivals may be in the rearview, but there is still plenty of wheeling and dealing to be done. The latest: Bleecker Street announced Monday it has picked up the U.S. rights for David Mackenzie’s sharp and very entertaining TIFF premiere, “Relay.”

Starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and Sam Worthington, the “high-concept contemporary thriller” is a throwback to clever, classy films of yore. Even better: the distributor is planning a 2025 theatrical release for the film. Bleecker has purchased two fall premieres that did well on the fest circuit and beyond, with “Relay” joining Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s “The Friend” as a recent purchase.

Per Bleecker, the film follows Riz Ahmed as “a world class ‘fixer’ who specializes in brokering lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten their ruin. He keeps his identity a secret through meticulous planning and always follows an exacting set of rules.

Bleecker Street has picked up the U.S. rights to Relay, a gritty corporate whistleblowing thriller from director David MacKenzie that stars Riz Ahmed, Lily James and Sam Worthingon.

Written by Justin Piasecki, Relay stars Ahmed as a fixer who specializes in brokering deals between whistleblowers and endangered corporations. He keeps his identity a secret and follows an exacting set of rules, only to see a message from a potential client, played by James, have him seek protection as the rules of the game quickly change and a dangerous cat-and-mouse chase involving his latest client escalates.

After a world bow in Toronto, Bleecker Street has set a 2025 theatrical release for the film.

Relay was financed by Black Bear, which produces alongside Thunder Road Pictures and Sigma Films. Producers include Basil Iwanyk, Gillian Berrie, Teddy Schwarzman and MacKenzie. Executive producers are Michael Heimler, John Friedberg, Erica Lee and Charlie Morrison.

The...

After four weeks on the big screen, “Conclave” has managed to do something that few other adult-skewing films have achieved in the post-pandemic era: Sell some tickets.

Director Edward Berger’s mystery thriller about the politicking and backstabbing behind the selection of a new pope has generated $26.5 million at the domestic box office since late October. Ticket sales are projected to surpass $30 million and counting — and that’s thanks to its atypical release strategy, stellar reviews and even stronger word-of-mouth.

This year, only a handful of arthouse films have exceeded $20 million, and most of those breakouts — including Neon’s occult-tilted thriller “Longlegs”, A24’s dystopian “Civil War”, Cineverse’s ultra-gory slasher “Terrifier 3” and A24’s tear-jerker “We Live in Time” — were geared toward younger or horror-loving crowds.

“It’s been a tough road of late for adult-skewing films in the theatrical marketplace,” says box office analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations.

Hugh Grant called an Honorary Oscar winner an a–hole, studios spent big money to show off all their awards contenders and a posthumous tribute to Quincy Jones left everybody buzzing at the Academy’s 15th annual Governors Awards on Sunday night in Hollywood, turning a fraught time in the movie business into a satisfying celebration – and, of course, a prime campaign opportunity for everyone hoping to attract the attention of Oscar voters.

While the Governors Awards, the annual event at which honorary Academy Awards are given out, has become a reliably grand combination of cinematic cclebration and campaign event, two factors conspired to cast a shadow over Sunday’s ceremony, which took place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.

The first was the fact that Jones was announced as a winner of the Honorary Oscar back in June, but died on Nov. 3, two weeks before he was to receive the award.

If the 2025 Oscars nominations were announced today, what would Gold Derby predict as the nominees and winners? Since our predictions center opened on July 1, 2024, more than 5,700 people have made their forecasts in 18 top categories. So who’s out front to claim these golden trophies, according to the Gold Derby Oscar predictions 2025?

Below, see a snapshot in time of our racetrack odds for the 97th Academy Awards, updated on Nov. 18, 2024. See how the odds and rankings have changed over time by examining our previous Oscar snapshots on July 3, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 29, Aug. 6, Aug. 19, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Sept. 19, Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 22, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, and Nov. 11.

Now expected to receive a nomination since the last update: Universal Pictures’ “Wicked” in Best Visual Effects. The movie adaptation of the popular Broadway musical is also predicted to receive nominations in Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Ariana Grande), Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling,...

Conclave Box Office (North America): Hits $25M ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Ralph Fiennes starrer mystery thriller, Conclave scored winning numbers after the exhibitors added significant number of theatres on Friday. It has once again earned decent numbers on its 4th weekend and has hit a minor milestone at the US box office. Keep scrolling for the deets.

It had been in the domestic top five for some time, and despite losing its spot, it is still there in the top ten. It has been awarded a B+ on CinemaScore, and its Rotten Tomatoes ratings are impressive. Despite a limited release, the movie has generated copious Oscar buzz and recovered its $20 million production budget. Big-budget films like Red One and Venom: The Last Dance are not taking away its audience, but the film’s breakeven point is around $50 million or more. It will become harder now with the holiday movies making their way to the cinemas.